Industrial Society and Native Culture - Essay Example

Both these societies have extremely different views regarding the environment and the use of its resources. With most of the industrial world following capitalist means of running their economies, the exploitation of natural resources in an unsustainable manner is the norm. However, an almost intuitive understanding of the manner in which nature functions enables native cultures to utilize natural resources in sustainable ways. The Brazilian Amazonian tribes follow methods of living that enable one to infer their respect for the environment.

At first glance, the method of agriculture that they follow, slash and burn agriculture is done in a manner that the ecological balance of the area is not upset. Moreover, different plants are planted at different points of time, which not only ensures a INDUSTRIAL AND NATIVE SOCIETIES 3 constant supply of food but also efficient use of the soil’s fertility. This also provides the land an opportunity to replenish itself. The Yanomami is a tribe that follows these methods of farming to great effect.

Initially, when the Europeans came to the Amazon, they were surprised at how the area was able to support the number of people that it did. This is possible because of the manner in which the Yanomami and other tribes in this area understand the ecology of the area and attempt to live in harmony with it (Hutchison 159-63, 2007). The needs of the present day Brazilian industrial society, is however, different. With a much greater population and corresponding needs, the Brazilian industrial society usually requires a greater yield than what slash and burn agriculture is able to provide.

As a result, it has to follow scientific methods of agriculture that suit the needs of the urban populations of Brazil. A concerted effort in the past thirty years has enabled the Brazilian state to increase its agricultural production and achieve a food surplus (The Miracle, 2010). It has managed to surpass the problems that have plagued the management of environmental issues such as the divide between the developed and the poor nations of the world as to the management of the crisis of pollution, which the Brazilian government has attempted to solve by encouraging the use of environment-friendly fuels that are ethanol-based.

A large number of opportunities to develop a consensus on the environmental issues that the world faces today have been frittered INDUSTRIAL AND NATIVE SOCIETIES 4 away due to this obstacle that divides the world into the developing and the developed (Cunningham Preface, 2007). The support that the government has provided for the initiatives that were started to encourage the use of ethanol based fuels has been very strong and today, a large number of vehicles that run in Brazil use ethanol-based fuels, that are able to power vehicles without sending out toxic fumes like fossil fuels like petrol and diesel.

The emphasis that the Brazilian industrial society places on the sustainability of its development is a feature that it has in common with the tribes of the Amazon. Both these communities plan their actions in such a way that they are able to provide themselves with their needs without compromising on the conservation of the environment. As a result,